Anupam- The Dreamer

The humans have many phobias (fear of something). Some are actual, some are psychological. Some are so irrational, that they cross the boundary of rationality and can safely be called as “mental” by others (paagal ho gaya/gayi hai). Yet, there are only two fears that are inborn in an infant, they are:

1. Fear of loud noises
2. Fear of falling from heights (acrophobia)

Rest all fears are learnt as we grow up. Fear of falling from heights is a natural fear, you can see that the toddlers display this by moro reflex, wherein the babies react to a sudden loss of support by extending their limbs and arching their back.

To overcome this inherent fear and to experience the spirit of adventure, I decided to take a free fall by doing bungee jumping. It was long on my bucket list and I somehow had to do it. So, when I got opportunity in Rishikesh, I had already made up my mind to take the plunge into the fear.

First, when you arrive at the location, you will see some daring souls taking the jump one by one into the valley from the high cantilever platform made up of steel structure. I could see three of those nearby, and decided to take the highest one in India i.e. a whopping 117 m! There are times, when you know in your heart that you have to do something for your own sake, even when it entails taking a significant amount of risk. But when you are close to doing such adventures, there is a rational voice in your head telling you constantly “What iff???… the rope snaps?” Because the difference between life and death is only the “poor rope”! Its like, zindagi literally sirf ek dhaage se judi hui hai.

My rendezvous with the fear began by mentally making up my mind to do it, come what may, even though my friend was adamant on not trying this stunt. I prodded him a lot, but he was as firm as a rock! So, I told him that I am going to do it. The process started off by signing a Waiver form, where you voluntarily give up all your legal rights to sue the bungee company, in the event of serious injury or even death. It feels like you are signing your own death warrant, without any insurance. I filled it hurriedly, and went to the lady who sat at the counter collecting money for the jump and separately for the video. I suggested her to start an insurance policy in case someone sustains fatal injuries, but she brushed off by saying that “ye to government formality hai, kuch hota thodi na hai”. She seemed pretty confident that no one dies here. After the formalities, they weighed me and assigned a coloured strap with ID as per the weight category. Another lady explained to us the whole process of jump and that it would take about 1 to 1.5 hour. She was so exasperated by explaining it to people again and again, that she pointed at the chart hanging besides her and told me to read it. After 10 seconds, she started to narrate like she was singing a song. Anyways, I was concerned about how many people do this in a day, to which she told that yesterday it was 257 (it was Holi, the day before and there was crowd rush there)! And I thought to myself that it has to be super safe, as none of the 257 died while doing the bungee.

As I sat in the car which takes the daredevils group beneath the jump tower, I was calculating how much time will I be in free fall. My learning from Class X, came handy, and I used the following equation to calculate the time:

Putting, u=0 (initial velocity), the equation simplifies to s=1/2 (at²)

Putting s=100 m (aprox.), and a=10 m/s², the time, t comes out to be just over 4 seconds of free fall!

And I thought that’s not too much time, as compared to free fall during a skydive!

As we reached the bottom of the tower, we went straight up to the lift which took us to the 7^th floor. The weather was sunny and the vibe at the platform was good. Everything, seemed so professional right from moment one. The professionals were dressed in black from head to toe, and were young, experienced and tough. While waiting for my turn to get all ready with the harnesses and all, I talked to some of the fellow jumpers and to the young bearded professional who was dressing everyone. I was amazed to know that he has taken more than 100 jumps till now, and takes around 3-4 each week. Still he was not satisfied and said that it takes time to perfect a jump in a particular style (there are many styles to jump like backflip, front flip etc.). I asked him “Do you feel the same during each jump, or it gets boring after sometime”. He responded with a grin on his face “utna hi mazaa aata hai har baar”! And frankly that made me more excited.

As I was ready for the jump, I asked about the safety harness and ropes. When I was told that there is double safety, even if the harness at the ankle breaks, you will get suspended from your body harness. That was it! After that, every iota of fear that was remaining in my body evaporated through every cell! And I was relieved that nothing worse can happen now. So, what remains in a bungee jump, when there is no fear? Only excitement and adventure and adrenaline rush! “Darr ke aage jeet hai!”

The “Jump Master” (who leads you to the jump, basically the God’s messenger at that time) opened the gate for me, and asked me about my medical condition. Then, he alarmed me that I would get only 2 chances to jump, otherwise the jump would be aborted and my money will not be refunded if I back out. Then, he told me how to lean and practice that a few times. I did that and then he made me sit on a chair where the photographer told me to give power poses. And I was more than happy to oblige. A professional standing nearby holding the ropes on seeing my Ferrari shoes, asked me “Hamilton or Leclerc?” I was happy that I found a Ferrari fan at the top of jump tower! I smiled looking at him and told “Leclerc” 😀

The Jump Master told me to get up and take 5 steps to the edge of the world! Yes, when you are standing at the cantilever platform with a height of 117 meters with your feet touching the platform, you feel that it is your last contact with the world and shortly you will be airborne into another world of adventure and ecstasy. I took 5 baby steps as my legs were tied to each other by handcuff-shaped harness. As I stood on the edge, I waived at the photographer behind my back. The Jump Master told not to look down and instead look at the mountains with my chin up. And I followed him like an obedient student. And then arrived the moment that I had been waiting for all this while. He said “3,2, 1, Bungee!!!!!!!” And I leaned with my arms spread wide like an eagle and suddenly there was a huge adrenaline rush as I realized that I was airborne and was shouting automatically at the peak of my voice. All I could see was the hills and the ground beneath me. I was more than excited to fly like a bird, a sense of freedom you cannot foresee. Such feelings cannot be really put into words, you have to do it to feel it for yourself. And before my excitement could sink in, the elastic rope came into action and snapped me back several feet high again. This continued for 4-5 times till the swinging motion subsided and I was hanging like a chicken in the butcher’s shop, waiting to be rescued by the 2 men for were watching me to be lowered down. It felt a little heavy in the head as blood rushed towards the brain as you hang upside down till you are lowered to the ground. I held on to the stick which they stretched towards me and was rescued finally 🙂

One item more off my bucket list! A person from their team, made me write my name on the certificate as a proof of bungee jump. And I walked away with it cheerfully, waiting eagerly for my pics and video to be sent to me on my WhatsApp by the team. I felt a bit more alive at that moment….a feeling that is beautifully described by Javed Akhtar in these lines:

जो अपनी आंखों में हैरानियां लेके चल रहे हो तो ज़िंदा हो तुम.. 
दिलो में तुम अपनी बेताबियां लेके चल रहे हो तो ज़िंदा हो तुम..